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Sunday, April 17, 2011

AERA 2011 Learning Experience

AERA NOLA Apr 7-12. It is taking me a while to resettle into Syracuse. I feel out of touch with my dissertation writing after all my professional duties at AERA. But I wouldn't have given it up for anything. This is an experience no formal course can ever teach me. I love meeting and working with people from other universities who are now my friends. When I go to AERA, I don't feel alone or lonely; I belong to a community. Being a GSC rep will definitely count as a positive highlight of my doctoral student life!

GSC Div C reps and co-chairs at AERA with Dr. Paul Cobb

For the record, no one pushed me to serve; no one advised me to do it to add an extra pretty line to my CV, :). I just did it because I wanted to have the learning experience. For some time, when the calls to serve came, I ignored them because I didn't want to get involved in purely "busy" work. Having been in leadership positions before (yes, I'm old!), I didn't want to do something just for a name, award or title. When I committed myself to serving eventually, I thought about the people who had let me into their lives generously to let me learn from them. With that attitude, I applied to serve and remember asking my senior chair (who interviewed me) how much time it might incur. Even though I'm really busy at the Annual Meeting, I absolutely have no regrets about serving in the AERA GSC.

To get invited to attend the executive business lunch and watch the Div C exec committee operate was an eye-opener. It was an honor. I look forward to the rest of my term as the senior rep and will treasure the time left till Vancouver when I hand over duties to my junior rep. :)

At Div C Exec Biz Lunch with the Div C Student Committee

Looking back, I count myself blessed to have such great learning experiences in NOLA and in Milwaukee in recent months!

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About Me

I am a learning designer and much more! A multifaceted border-crosser, I believe that breakthroughs happen at intersections! I like to look for the exquisite (in writing, design, life!), to explore cross-cultural/cross-field engagement, creativity, cognition, arts, ... This is my space to write a bit about what tugs my heart.